Testimony of the Day
Home Office Testimony: “Maria helped me lose 75 pounds in just over a year. The Maria way cleared up many health issues I had been struggling with, some my whole life. Losing the weight and getting into the best health of my life also helped me and my husband get pregnant after 7 years of trying and two miscarriages. We are due with our little girl in February. Thank you Maria Emmerich for changing my life.” Leah
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What is Xylem Sap?
As Maria’s husband I have helped out on a lot of recipes but never owned one from start to finish. This is my first attempt. I have a degree in Electrical Engineering so I am a technology and science geek. One thing I find interesting is some people’s reluctance to try alternative sweeteners like Erythritol and Xylitol. Many times they think they are artificial sweeteners due to their chemical sounding names.
While this is typically a good instinct when looking at ingredient labels, in this case it is not warranted. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol or polyol. It is found naturally in some fruits and fermented foods. From the Wikipedia page it is “almost noncaloric, does not affect blood sugar, does not cause tooth decay, and is partially absorbed by the body, excreted in urine and feces. It is less likely to cause gastric side effects than other sugar alcohols due to its unique digestion pathway.” The typical manufacturing process involves using yeast to ferment glucose (typically from vegetables).
When using good non-GMO vegetables, this process is no less natural than distilling maple syrup.I think that this is somewhat similar to calling salt “sodium chloride”. Salt is mainly sodium chloride but if we said “put some sodium chloride on my eggs” instead of “put some salt on my eggs”, the perception is very different. Or like calling Maple Syrup what it really is, Concentrated Xylem Sap.
A reader (thanks Chris Johnson!) tipped us off to a great looking recipe that desperately needed to be “Healthified”. So I took a stab at it and I think it turned out great!
NOTE: SOME psyllium powder will turn your baked good a “rye bread” color. If you are having an issue with a gummy wet texture, try weighing your ingredients as listed below. I use this kitchen scale. 🙂
DOUGH:
2 cup BOILING water (14 oz)
TOPPING:
8 TBS butter (or coconut oil)
1 TBS cinnamon
1/2 cup Swerve (or erythritol)
Separate dough into 20 equal sized disks. You can spray some more spray on top of the dough to help keep it from sticking to your fingers. Cut cream cheese into 20 squares. Place on square on top of each dough disk and form the disk around the sides of the cream cheese.
Place 10 of the squares in the bottom of a greased bundt pan with the cream cheese facing up. Sprinkle cinnamon and Swerve on top. Then put the remaining 10 squares inverted on top of the first 10 (making the cream cheese touch). Bake for 55 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the topping. Place all ingredients into a medium sized bowl and combine until smooth. After it has baked for 55 minutes, remove and quickly spread topping over the monkey bread. Return to oven and bake for 15 minute. Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes before turning over and removing from bundt pan. Makes 14 servings.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Traditional Recipe = 308 calories, 21.1g fat, 2.9g protein, 28.9 carbs, trace fiber (28.9g effective carbs)
“Healthified” Almond Flour Monkey Bread = 261 calories, 21.8g fat, 7.6g protein, 9.8g carbs, 6.5g fiber (3.3g effective carbs)
“Healthified” Coconut Flour Monkey Bread = 196 calories, 13.4g fat, 7.1g protein, 10.2g carbs, 7.2g fiber (3g effective carbs)
That looks delicious!
Thanks!
This looks so good!
Thanks Candice! 🙂
Great post 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
Wow, what a thing of beauty that is! I doubt mine would look that neat but I want to try this. Besides I could use the psyllium husks in my diet! It sounds really good too.
Thanks Jan!
Looks amazing! I’d be curious to try it… wonder if Just Like Sugar would be ok? I’m not sure about the Swerve yet since I’ve tried the Erythritol & it made me so sick. If I remember correctly, Swerve contains Erythritol, right? Anyway, great job healthifiying monkey bread!
Yes, the base ingredient in Swerve is erythritol. Just like sugar would work as a sub. Thanks! 🙂
That looks awesome! I know my kids and hubby would love this!
Thanks Sherrilee! 🙂
It looks YUM!!!! I feel an experiment coming up in the kitchen! Have you sweetened the cream cheese or used a blend with ricotta, or a more savory version with a pungent soft cheese? mmmm…I hope my kitchen doesn’t explode with all the versions I’m think up.
CindyK
Those all sound like great ideas! Happy baking! 🙂
This looks perfect for Christmas morning. YUM!
Thanks! 🙂
I’ve been wondering, what is the purpose of using erythritol and 1 tsp stevia glycerite? I think you explained it on another post, but I can’t seem to find it.
The only sweetener I have at home is liquid sucralose. I assume this wouldn’t really work in your recipe…?
Would xylitol work for this recipe?
Yes, that will work great! 🙂
Excellent! I was just about to ask the same thing because here in Finland, where xylitol originated, its much easier to find than many other sugar substitutes used in other parts of the world.
Thanks a lot,
Melody from Finland.
Nice to see Craig getting in on the recipe action! Pretty soon those two cute little boys will be also…
Thanks for what looks like a fabulous alternative to monkey bread, which is wildly popular in my house!
Have a wonderful holiday.
Leslie
Thank you and we hope you have a wonderful holidays too! 🙂
I will be making it soon!
Thank you both.
Thanks Norma! 🙂
I want to make this for my kiddos (my eldest loves this kind of stuff)!
Looks good! I have one question…Title says Monkey Bread but in the recipe you call it Kringle. Is that the new name or a mistake? Thanks
Oops. That was a typo. Thanks! 🙂
I’m drooling! Seriously! I LOVE Monkey Bread and you just made my week!!! I do have one question so I don’t mess up this delicious creation of yours when attempting at home…Did you grease/oil the bundt pan or just put the dough in it without anything? Thank you so much. I just ordered your new book too. Congrats. I have them all and couldnt wait for this one.
I greased it. I updated the instructions above. Thanks! 🙂
I can hardly wait to try this one. Thanks so much! The pics are fantastic.
Thank you! 🙂
Could you try or have you tried JK Gourmet almond flour? I can’t seem to get Honeyville in Canada….
I haven’t but it should work. 🙂
I subscribe to the Healthy Home Economist and this was on her blog this week. What do you think?
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/xylitol-not-as-sweet-as-its-cracked-up-to-be/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHealthyHomeEconomist+%28The+Healthy+Home+Economist%29
Hi, I have had 3 or 4 people send me that link now. Here is what I wrote to someone on facebook that asked about the same link:
Here is the original source of that critique.
http://www.naturalnews.com/022986_xylitol_health_sugar.html
The first couple comments you see are:
“Misinformation by someone who sells a product that Xylitol competes with. Yes, Xylitol is heavinly processed, because that’s cheaper than getting it directly from plants. It doesn’t matter – It’s a chemically pure product, and therefore identical regardless of source. It’s bad for rats, and also for dogs. So is chocolate. Luckily we are not rats or dogs. It is also bad for bacteria, which is why it’s effective at preventing caries. And it’s bad for yeast, so don’t use it for making bread. There are plenty of studies showing it to be safe for human consumption, and none saying otherwise. Yes, it will give you diarrhoea if you eat too much, but so will cherries, plums, berries, etc – because guess what – most fruits contain xylitol. So don’t eat too much of it. It’s a fantastic sweetener, that has 1/3 less calories than sugar, prevents caries. It’s also much slower to be absorbed, so it does not cause spikes in insulin, which lead to health problems (whether you are diabetic or not).
I wonder if this comment will even be allowed to be posted?”
and:
“I agree with Alicia. Based on the data in this page, the LD50 is 16.5 gr of xylitol per kg. An adult human has an average weight of 80 kg. That means that to reach the LD50 dose, a person should eat 16.5 g x 80 kg = 1,320g or 1.32kg of xylitol in a day. That’s close to 3 lbs. By the way, the LD50 of sucrose (table sugar) is 29 g/kg. So table sugar is about 1/2 as toxic as xylitol… which means it is considered NON TOXIC… and that means IT IS SAFE.”
I tend to agree with what is said here and think it is more accurate:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/sugar-alcohols/
Thanks!
Definitely going to try this for the holidays. Thanks!
Oh, and a tip for others like me, who don’t have a bundt pan: use a round baking pan of the right size and depth, and place an inverted glass custard cup in the center before adding the dough, to form the “hole”. Works great!
Awesome idea. I have a glass pie dish and a glass ramikin. should work?
That should work. 🙂
I have a question about Erythritol. I use it in all of my baking but if I put bigger amount or for toppings or icing, then the sugar turns into this strong cold almost spicy taste. How can I prevent this?
Love this recipe and cant wait to try it.
That is a property of Erythritol. I use Swerve (which combine erythritol with other ingredients) and find it doesn’t give as much of a cooling aftertaste. You can get it here and use the coupon code: MARIA15 to get 15% off! 🙂
http://www.swervesweetener.com/113.html
Mix it with a little bit of Stevia to reach desired sweetness…Erythritol usually becomes “cold” tasting when you use too much. Stevia really helps here! I actually premix Erythritol with some Stevia in a jar before using it.
I think this looks pretty easy, and super delish! For something different- how about mixing the cream cheese with some pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice, then chilling til firm, THEN cutting it in squares and doing the same thing? I LOVE anything pumpkin…Also, how about trying this- mix in dry pistachio sugar free pudding mix in the cream cheese, and rechill it til firm, then stuff the chunks in. YUMMMY! Anyone else think I’m nuts here? CMFIC
Great idea! There are lots of things you could do with the filling. 🙂
Thanks for the info about xylitol. So far, we have tolerated it well and since I haven’t been able to find any erythritol locally, I was wondering what to do if I shouldn’t be using it anymore. The information is so contradictory at times.
I was wondering….I had saved the post a few months ago for the Kringle recipe thinking I would definitely need to make it at Christmas. This recipe is the same, but instead of 4 or 8 eggs, it uses 8 or 16 egg whites. What is the reasoning behind removing the egg yolks? Did it make for a better dough? Your recipes are so amazing….thank you so much for all you do!
We found that the bread rises better with just whites. You can try it either way as it does work with either. 😉 Thanks!
“You can spray some more spray on top of the dough to help keep it from sticking to your fingers.” What spray? I don’t see any kind of spray mentioned.
Thanks
Just use some oil spray like this. 🙂
http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20/detail/B005TY1K0G
are the egg whites whipped at all
Nope, just mixed in. 🙂
whats the serving size?
There are 14 servings so about 2/3rds of one of those bumps in the photo. 🙂
Can liquid egg whites, such as AllWhites (100% liquid egg whites), be used in this recipe, or would the pasteurization have a negative effect? This looks amazing, but I can’t bring myself to use 16 eggs in one recipe in order to make it with coconut flour.
Thank you!
All white will work great. Thanks! 🙂
Hi, I tried to order some sweeteners from Maria’s Amazon store, and it wouldn’t ship to Canada???
Any help would be appreciated, thanks
Heather
You will have to contact Swerve directly. Thanks! 🙂
Thanks Maria. I contacted the Canadian distributor and they were very helpful. For your Canadian readers, I just discovered lowcarbcanada.ca – they have two stores, one in Calgary and one in Toronto, as well as an online store. They seem to have a lot of the ingredients you use, like Jay Robb powder, erythritol, stevia glycerite, ChocoPerfection bars in 5 flavors, Swerve, Just Like Sugar, etc. They also offer free shipping for certain sizes of orders, which is helpful. I am not affiliated with them at all, but have been looking for these ingredients for about two months now, trying to find decent prices. The prices are still higher than what would be charged in the US, but with Canadian funds, free shipping, and no border charges I think it works out ok.
Heather
Thanks for the tip!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! We just tried it out and it smelled and looked so delicious while it baked, it was puffy and plump but the moment I pulled it from the oven it began sinking, and sinking, until it was half the size and curling in on itself. I followed the recipe and directions completely, I’m wondering if you have any suggestions. Could I have over mixed the dough? I’m sure it will still taste good but it looks so sad!
It probably needed to cook longer. My oven might be hotter (convection) too. I would try 375 and initially cook for 55-60 minutes (instead of 45). Thanks!
Great thank you! I’m going to make it again for Christmas. Once it was flipped over it looked beautiful and tasted even better. Thanks again for all that you do!
Thank you and have a wonderful Christmas! 🙂
This looks like a wonderful thing to eat while opening presents! Thank you, Craig!!!!I’m impressed!
Thanks! 🙂
Ooo, yum! Gorgeous.
Any particular amount of sweetener & cinammon to sprinkle on top of the cream cheese before putting the other 10 pieces on top?
Thanks!
I just do it to taste. The topping is nice and sweet so I didn’t add much. 🙂
I absolutely love this recipe! Maria you are an artist and I am seriously so thankful for your blog and cook books! Thanks for all you do!
Thank you! 🙂
Is there a way I can make this the night before and just bake in the morning?
That should work. I have made my cinnamon rolls and put in oven on delay timer for 8 hours later. 🙂
I just made these and have a couple of questions. I baked them for 45 minutes and they were gorgeous–risen high and browning nicely. I pulled them partwaay out of the oven (still on the rack) and drizzled with the topping and watched them fall right before my eyes. I ended up baking them for almost 40 minutes more, because the insides tasted like raw dough. They had a wonderful flavor, nonetheless, but I am curious about what I might have done wrong to make them fall like that.
It looks like your oven needed them to cook a little longer before adding the topping. Maybe try 60 minutes and then add topping and cook for another 15. 🙂
I changed the initial cook time to 55 minutes. I have found that I have a hotter oven than many people. That should help. 🙂
Thanks! I also realized that I cooked them at 350 and not 375, so they must not have had time to set properly–guess it’s like a cake falling if you mess with it before it’s done, eh? Will definitely try again, as the flavor is outstanding.
I have my Monkey Bread in the oven right now. 🙂 Am I suppose to bake it for 45 or 55 mins before I add the topping and put it back in for 15 minutes? The recipes says 45 mins and then says 55 mins? Unless I am readding it wrong. Thanks!
Sorry, I fixed it above. It should be 55 minutes. 🙂
So, I’m thinking this would make a great King Cake for Mardi Gras. Can the Swerve be colored and used as a topping or would that just make this way too sweet?
I think that would be ok. You could just cut back some on the glaze. 🙂
What is Stevia glycerite? Would liquid stevia drops work? Can’t wait to try this!
~ Francie ~
It is a less bitter form of stevia. Yes, the drops will work, just add to taste. 🙂
I wonder, could this be made savory? Could you just omit the sweetener in the dough and it turn out ok? Years ago, I made a “non-healthified” cream cheese clouds that were biscuits wrapped around cream cheese squares that had been dunked in herbs and spices, then you put them in a pan and poured melted butter over and baked them. They were superb, and this reminded me of them. 🙂
I think that would be a great option. Let me know if you try it! 🙂
For the topping, do you melt the butter/coconut oil?
You can soften it to aide in spreading it on. 😉
I do have a convection oven. Is the bake time still 55 minutes?
Yes, I would still do 55 minutes. 🙂
Ok, this is the third time I’ve tried a bread recipe with psyllium husk powder, and it failed again. LOL I’ve made the sub bread twice, with Bob’s almond flour (which I read later doesn’t work) and then the monkey bread with Honeyville almond flour. All 3 times it’s risen beautifully, then fallen flat, and had a weird rubbery texture. Not the beautiful texture in your pictures at all. Could it be the psyllium husk powder I’m using? I use NOW. It’s the only other thing I can think to change! Also, the dough never comes together as nicely as in the videos, which is an indication that it’s not going to turn out right, but I always bake it anyway. LOL Any ideas or solutions, anyone, that’s had similar issues? 🙂
Yes, as I put in the red note here:
http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/2012/07/toasted-sub-sandwich-and-panini.html
Try using less psyllium if you are getting a hallow or sunken gummy result. 🙂
Excellent! Thanks, Maria! I’ll give it another try! 😀
Ashley
Can this be frozen? I live alone, and 14 portions at one time might be a bit much to get through without gorging myself. It would be great if it could be frozen for another day. Or do you think I could make half a recipe? But then I wouldn’t know what kind of a pan it should go in.
Yes, that should work. 🙂
Hi Maria, When will your new Slow Cooker Cookbook be available for sale on Amazon.com?
They are printing as we speak! Should be available in 2-3 weeks! Thanks! 🙂
Hi I live in Australia. I cant seem to find swerve anywhere. Any suggestions or could stevia or truvia work? Looks delicious & can’t wait to try it
Truvia would work. I do know that there is a good sweetener made by an Australian company made from Monk Fruit. I think this is it:
http://norbusweetener.com.au/
Hi Maria,
I’ve made this a few times, but I’ve had better results with less water (like half the amount of water), I’m wondering if I’m using bigger eggs. I’ve been using large eggs which is coming out to a little over a cup of egg whites. Do you know the volume of your eggs whites or the size of the eggs?
Thanks,
Michele
That could be the case. Our eggs vary and are kind of large (versus extra large in stores). 🙂
Hi maria,
I made this recently. It turned out well. However, I’d like to get it looking just like yours (mine had to cook much longer and was heavier than I’d like it).
So, I’m aiming to use the same brand ingredients as you.
Now the question – do you buy the psyllium whole husks and grind them yourself (the link above brings us to Frontier Natural WHOLE husks) or do you use the Frontier POWDERED psyllium (the pre-powdered one)?
Love your blog and recipes (and books) … thanks for helping make us healthier!
I use Jay Robb whole husks and grind them myself. 🙂
Is it three cups almond or 1 cup coconut flour?
Correct, OR.
Assuming I am out of coconut flour :), Would flaxseed meal work if a person is low on almond flour?
Hmm, not sure. I try to limit my flaxseed intake due to the estrogenic effects. 🙂
Thanks so much Craig! 🙂 I ran to the store for more almond flour after reading your reply -it paid off too! My husband really likes the Monkey Bread which means this will most likely be a staple in our house now :). And because the moneky bread looked so delicious fresh out of the oven, I snapped a pic and shared your blog with a few links back to your recipes on my blog to spread the Healthified “ness”… if you will ^-^ . You can see the post here: http://lostsentiments.blogspot.com/2013/10/low-carb-monkey-bread-anyone.html
I hope it brings you more traffic and sales! 🙂 You guys rock! ^-^ Best, Dawn
Thank you!
I just made this morning for my sons and their friends!! They loved it!! It was just 5 of us and they are all under age 7 and we didn’t even eat half of it though. It is so rich and filling. I will be only making half next time for sure. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out looking just like yours. I think this will be our Christmas morning meal!! Thanks Maria and Craig. You really are a huge help to those of us trying to keep our families healthy and happy at the same time!
Thanks!
Hi Jessica,
Did you weigh the ingredients? And did you use the same products as Maria? I am hoping to make this and have success!
Thanks!
Hi Maria,
When I make “non-healthified” monkey bread, I usually roll the bread balls in cinnamon-sugar and pile them on top of each other in the bundt pan, top with some melted butter and bake (I add melted butter after stacking half of the dough balls, too). Then I make a cream-cheese frosting (cream cheese with a little added sugar) for those who want to dip the monkey balls in it while they eat. Do you think this would work for your healthified version, substituting the cinnamon/Swerve combination for the cinnamon/sugar and making a cream cheese/Swerve frosting??
That might work. 🙂
Could you use a non dairy cream cheese?
The ones I have seen on the market have bad ingredients in them so I would avoid. 🙂
Hello there
I loved the picture of your monkey bread. I have made it twice now….once wth almond flour and once with coconut flour. Both times were epic failures. I cooked it tonight for over 2 hours and the middle is still raw and gummy like porridge. I even tried doing it by weight the second time….but the weight didn’t equal the measurements if just using cups. I am so disappointed that it didn’t work out for me. I doubt that I will try it again, as I am also dairy free and used goat cream cheese…and it is expensive. So glad it worked out for others.
You have to get the psyllium powdered right. Try to make the tablespoons match the weight. 🙂
FOR THE MONKEY BREAD, WHY DO YOU ADD APPLE CIDER VINEGAR AND SO MUCH OF IT? WHAT DOES IT DO TO THE TASTE OF THE BREAD?
I helps it rise. 🙂
Could I use coconut cream instead of cream cheese?
That should work. Make sure to get all the moisture out of the coconut cream first. 🙂
I made this today. Fantastic! Thank you SO much!
Thanks!
Oh my goodness, I’m going to definitely try this. My daughter and I have a tradition of preparing monkey bread on Christmas Eve to bake on Christmas morning as we open presents. Switching over to low carb has been hard on her. She’s not fully adapted and was sad about our Christmas monkey bread (it was one of the first things she thought of when we started eating differently). Now we can try this out! Thanks!
I’m still having a tough time getting the dough to not be rather wet and gummy. I’ve weighed it each time to 90 grams and gotten it to the 10 tablespoon measurement. It still comes out so wet I feel the need to toast each slice (when I make the Amazing Bread) to make it more bread-like. What is the next step, bake it longer? Adjust amounts? I want to try this monkey bread recipe but don’t want to waste ingredients until I get it right! 🙂
What are the measurements for the cinnamon and sugar substitute that gets sprinkled on the bottom layer before the top layer gets added?
Just maybe 1-2 TBS of Swerve and 1 TBS cinnamon. 🙂
I can’t wait to try this. I traditionally make Paula Deen’s “Gorilla Bread” recipe every Christmas and was wondering if I’d be able to find a suitable substitute. I’ll probably make this like I do that recipe and put cinnamon and sweetener in with the cream cheese, and top with walnuts or pecans!
You lost me…. does that say “3 cup blanched almond flour (10 oz) (or 1 cup coconut flour or 5 oz)”? Does it say OR??? So it’s 10 oz. almond flour OR 5 oz. coconut??? Thanks for when you help me understand this. :0)
Or. Don’t use both. Use only one.
So sad! I got a large bag $22, of erythritol and it tasted so good. It made me misrable!I dont care for Stevia but started replacing Splenda with it. I was going to try Swerve but now wonder if it too will have an adverse reaction.
Hi Maria,
I would like to substitute Coconut Flour for the Almond Flour; what is the measurement? The “Healthified” nutritional comparisons at the bottom show both versions.
Thank you for all you do… BTW We’re enjoying every recipe of yours that we’ve tried. I recently purchased your last 2 books and I know I will be getting all of them soon.
Oops, I just looked again at the recipe and I saw the measurement for the coconut flour… not sure how i missed it the first time…
I don’t have a Bundt pan. Has anyone tried with a loaf pan or an 8×8?